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青少年导向的社交网络MyYearbook开始对游戏开发者开放

发布时间:2010-08-13 10:59:32 Tags:,

与大多数同类产品不同的是,一些在市场上有利可图的社交网络确实在增长。MyYearbook认为自己也是其中一个,因为其有着年轻的用户基础并且注重对结交新朋友的强调。

据公司CEO Geoff Cook称,从2005年创办起,MyYearbook的访问量已经增长到平均每月450万独立访客。特别是去年11月增长了50个百分点。此外,网站同样记录了平均一个用户一个月在网站停留167分钟。新用户的增长可能是被青少年寻找属于他们自己的网站的趋势所驱使(假若是这样,Facebook要除外),而高的用户接触率则可能来源于网站的游戏。

my_yearbook_logo

my_yearbook_logo

谈及游戏,MyYearbook同样有所不同。两年间,休闲游戏公司Arkadium一直作为MyYearbook内部的游戏选择,相对地,其他的公司则很少涉及。

然而现在,从经营着自己的以青少年为主的平台的Omgpop公司开始,MyYearbook正逐渐向外部开发者打开大门。Omgpop公司以及公司的Balloono和Pictionary-like Draw My Thing之类的游戏集合将会在MyYearbook的站点拥有自己的标签。

Omgpop的游戏也将使用MyYearbook内部的虚拟货币,叫作Lunch Money(午餐币)。与Facebook的积分不同的是,大量的Lunch Money会作为一种免费的奖励手段发放。

Lunch Money很容易得到,也可以通过游戏和各种活动赢得或失去,可以在网站的任何地方使用。因此,MyYearbook三分之一的盈利来自于销售额外的Lunch Money。Cook说,公司收益增长到了每年2400万,从今年开始至今已经增长了64%。

其他将游戏加入到MyYearbook站点的开发者也将使用Lunch Money,也可将它折合成其他的货币,比如Omgpop的硬币。这会很好的作用于之后的公司,因为他们有了相似的模式——可以免费发放货币。

长期看来,像MyYearbook这样的站点提供了代替Facebook社交游戏系统的另一个有趣的选择。游戏是在MyYearbook上进行体验的一个主要部分,有些甚至在全站的信息更新(名叫Chatter)中起到了重要的作用。

my_yearbook

my_yearbook

尽管看起来不太可能,但是由于有着更强大的社区交互组件,MyYearbook的游戏通常比Facebook上的农场和城市建设之类的经典游戏有着更快更好的用户体验。

稍微不同的是,MyYearbook和Omgpop都在努力促使没有联系的用户之间的交流。“人们不仅仅只想和自己的朋友们一起玩游戏,而是基于游戏的等级、类型和技能去寻找新的玩伴,”Omgpop的首席营收官Wilson Kriegel这样说道。

那将意味着更多的游戏同时在线,并且伴随着会有更多的使得Facebook的游戏比其他休闲游戏更成功的社交游戏的特征出现。(译者:杨雅)

Teen-Oriented Social Network MyYearbook Opens to Game Developers, Starting With Omgpop

A few niche social networks are, unlike most of their peers, actually growing. MyYearbook claims to be one of them, with a youthful user base and emphasis on meeting new people.

MyYearbook has grown since its 2005 founding to 4.5 million unique visitors each month, according to CEO Geoff Cook, with 50 percent growth since last November. It also clocks an average of 167 minutes per user, per month. The new user growth may be driven by the tendency of teenagers to look for a place of their own (in this case, besides Facebook), but the high engagement is driven by the site’s games.

When it comes to the games, MyYearbook is again a bit different. For two years, casual gaming company Arkadium has been behind MyYearbook’s in-house selection of games, with relatively little involvement from other companies.

Now, however, MyYearbook is opening up to outside developers, starting with Omgpop, which runs its own teen-dominated platform. Omgpop will get its own tab on MyYearbook’s site, with integration of games like Balloono and the Pictionary-like Draw My Thing.

Omgpop’s games will also feed off MyYearbook’s in-house virtual currency, called Lunch Money. Unlike Facebook’s Credits, Lunch Money is given out in large quantities as a free promotional tool.

Lunch Money is easy to get, but it’s also won, lost and otherwise used all over the site, so sales of additional Lunch Money end up driving about a third of MyYearbook’s total monetization; Cook says the revenue run rate is up to about $24 million a year, and has grown 64 percent since the start of the year.

Any developers adding their games to MyYearbook’s site will also end up working with Lunch Money, which can be converted into other currencies, like Omgpop’s Coins. That works well for the latter company, since it has a similar model, giving out some Coins for free.

Going forward, sites like MyYearbook could drive an interesting alternative to Facebook’s social gaming ecosystem. On MyYearbook, games are an integral part of the experience; some even feature in the site-wide news feed, which is called Chatter.

Also, though it hardly seems possible, MyYearbook’s games are generally faster and lighter experiences than your typical Facebook farming or city building game, with a heavier social interaction component.

Part of the difference is that MyYearbook and Omgpop both promote interaction between unassociated users. “People have a desire to play not just with friends, but based on level, genre, skills, and to meet new people,” says Omgpop chief revenue officer Wilson Kriegel.

That means more synchronous gaming, but with the same social networking features that made Facebook’s games more successful than their casual counterparts.(source:inside social games)


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